Swinging mechanism for rock drills



Patented Apr. 9, 1946 2,398,311 SWINGIN G MECHANISM FOR ROCK DRILLSGeorge W. Hulshizer, Stewartsville, N. J., assignor to Ingersoll-RandCompany, New York, N. Y., a corporationof New Jersey Application January3, 1945, Serial No. 571,172

1 Claim.

This invention relates vto a rock drilling apparatus, and moreparticularly to a swinging mechanism for rock drills used for cuttingkerfs in coal deposits and the like.

One object of the invention is to expedite the swinging movement of theto the working surface.

Another object is to eect the cutting of a channel or kei-f with aminimum of manual elort.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed outhereinafter.

In the drawing accompanying this specification and in which similarreference numerals refer to similar parts:

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a rock drill, asupporting member therefor and a swinging mechanism constructed inaccordance with the practice of the invention,

Figure 2 is an elevation, partly broken away, of the rock drill swingingmechanism and the supporting member,

Figure 3 is an elevation, through Figure 1 on the Figure 4 is atransverse ure 2 on the line 4-4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the swinging mechanism,designated in its entirety by 2), is arranged upon a supporting member2| for swinging a rock drilling mechanism 22 back and forth along a coalbed 23 to cut a kerf 24 thereinto.

'I'he rock drilling mechanism 22 may be of the well known drifter typecomprising a rock drill 24, for actuating a working implement 26. Therock drill is slidably mounted, in a well known manner, in a shell 21and may be actuated relatively to the shell by a feed screw 28.

The supporting member 2| may also be of a known type and is shown, forconvenience of illustration, as being the lower portion of a cylindricaldrill column having a base 29 provided with teeth 30 for engagement witha surface supporting the column.

The swinging mechanism 2|), constructed in accordance with the practiceof the invention and serving as a connection between the rock drillingmechanism 22 and the column 2|, comprises a tubular body or sleeve 3|that is in telescopic engagement with the column 2| and readilyrotatable thereon.

Ihe rock drilling mechanism, more particularly the shell 21, is securedto the side of the sleeve which has an enlargement 32 with a taperedrecess 33 to receive a correspondingly shaped projection 34 on the shell21. The projection 34 is rock drill relatively partly in section, takenline 3-3, and View taken through Figabutment for the shaft hollow, andin an end wall 35 at the free end thereof is an aperture 36 toaccommodate a bolt 31 that projects from the enlargement 32 and has anut 38 threaded on it for drawing the tapered portion of the projection34 into firm frictional engagement with cess 33. The bolt 31 is heldagainst rotary movement within the aperture 36 by a lock nut 39 thatseats against the outer end of the Wall 35.

The rotary movement of the sleeve 3| on the column 2| is effectedmechanically through cooperating devices carried by the column and thesleeve and including, among other elements, in the example shown, a wormgear 40 on the column and a worm 4| carried by the sleeve to mesh withthe worm gear. The worm gear encircles the column 2| and its hub portion42 lies immediately above the sleeve 3l to serve as an abut# menttherefor. The hubV portion 43 lying above the gear is of sleeve-shapeand is slotted longitudinally at diametrically opposed points to permitthe gear to 2| by bolts 44 in the slotted portion of the hub.

The worm 4| is arranged within a casing 45 lying above the enlargement32 and joined thereto by a web 46, and in the side of the casing 45confronting the sleeve 3| is an opening 41 to permit a segment of thegear 4|] to extend into the casing for engagement with the worm 4| andto effect; an interlocking engagement with the casing during the movingof the worm gear and the sleeve 3| from one position to another on thecolumn.

At the ends of the casing -45 are flanges 48 having secured thereto, bybolts 49, the :flanges 5|! of bearings 5| and 52 for the shaft portions53 and 54 of the worm. The bearings extend part way intoy the casing 45to assure concentricity therewith and with each other, and in thebearing 5| is a thrust member 55 that acts as an portion 53 of the worm.'Ihethrust member 55 is in the form of a screw threaded into the bearingand may, therefore, be adjusted readily to assure the correct positionof the worm with respect to the casing parts. The worm 4| also carries aiiange 56, at its juncture with the shaft portion 54, to abut the innerend of the bearing 52 to further assure against endwise movement of theworm with respect to the bearings.

The worm 4| sleeve about the is motor driven for rotating the column andthe motor performing this service, and designated 51, is supported by askirt 58 on the outer end of the bearing 52 to which it may be securedin any well known the tapered surfaces of the ren be readily clamped tothe column d 2 manner. The motor is of the rotary, pressure fluidactuated vane type, the rotor 59 of which is positioned eccentrically ina piston chamber 60 and carries radially slidable vanes 6| against whichpressure fluid acts for driving it. The admission of such pressure fluidinto the chamber 6l) is controlled by a manually operable valve 62having a recess 63 that in constant communication with a pressure fluidsupply conduit 64 through a passage B5 in the motor casing.

The valve 52 is rotatable in the motor casing and has a port 66 toafford comunication between the recess 63 and inlet passages 61 and B8leading to the chamber 60 at opposite sides of the point of minimumclearance between the rotor 59 and the wall of the chamber. The motor,as will, therefore, be readily apparent, is reversible for rotation inopposite hand directions, this being effected by manually oscillatingthe valve 52 to place the port' in communication with either of theinlet passages. An exhaust port, or ports, 69 is formed in the wall ofthe motor casing, in the zone of maximum clearance between the rotor andthe wall of the chamber B, to permit the escape of fluid to theatmosphere.

Theforce of the rotor 59 is transmitted by its shaft 1D and planetarygearing 1| to a carrier 12 which is interlockingly connected to apolygonally shaped end 13 of the shaft portion 5d.

As willbe apparent from the foregoing description, both the sleeve 3|and the worm gear 49 are shiftable longitudinally of the column 2|, thisbeing desirable to enable the rock drilling mechanism to be convenientlyplaced at a desired elevation with respect to the work. It will,moreover, be apparent that the worm gear and its hub portion and thesleeve 3| are so constructed and positioned that in the assembledsetting of the parts the hub of the worm gear will serve as an abutmentfor the adjacent end of the sleeve to hold the sleeve against endwisemovement in one direction relatively to the column. Movement of thesleeve in a downwardly direction is prevented by a clamp collar 14 inthe form of a split sleeve having pairs of lugs 15 and 15 at the spacedends of the sleeve, and an eyebolt 11 pivoted on a pin 18 in the lug 15lies between the lug 15 with its threaded end and carries a nut 19 forclamping the collar to the column.

The collar 'Hl is also conveniently movable longitudinally of thecolumn, and under certain circumstances as when it is intended to lowerthe sleeve to its lowermost position on the column, may be removed andthe lower end of the sleeve 3| may then seat upon a shoulder 89 on thebase 29.

In the operation of the device, and assuming that the sleeve 3|, theworm gear 40 and the collar 14 are positioned correctly upon the column2| and with respect to each other, the rock drill `25 is set inoperation. At the same time the valve 62 is positioned to introducepressure fluid through an inlet passage, 61 or 68, for rotating therotor 59.

This movement of the rotor 59 is transmitted to the worm 4| by theplanetary gearing and the carrier 12 and cause the sleeve and the rockdrill to rotate in one direction about the column. The working implement26 will thus be swept across the working surface to out an arcuate kerf24.

When the Working implement has thus travelled along the working surfacethrough an arc of predetermined length the valve 62 is shifted to placethe port 65 in communication with the other inlet passage, 61 or 68. Themovement of the motor will then be reversed, as will also the worm liI,and the rock drilling mechanism will swing in the opposite direction todeepen the cut in the rock surface, it being understood, of course, thatduring the operation of the mechanism the feed screw 28 is being rotatedto actuate the rock drill and the working implement toward the work andmaintain the working implement in a favorable position to receive theblows of the percussive element driving it.

This mode of operation is continued until a kerf 24 of the desired depthhas been cut, that is to say, the motor is alternately reversed to causethe rock drilling mechanism to swing to and fro along the work, andafter a kerf of the desired depth has been cut the rock drill isretracted on the shell 21 by means of the feed screw 28. The entiredrilling mechanism, including the column 2|, may then be moved toanother drilling site or, if the nature of the work require, theswinging mechanism may be moved upwardly to another position on thecolumn 2| for cutting a kerf 24 at a higher elevation,

I claim:

Swinging mechanism for rock drills, comprising a cylindrical supportmember, a rock drill, a working implement for the rock drill, a sleeverotatably encircling the support member and adjustable endwise of thesupport member, means for connecting the rock drill to the sleeve, acasing on the sleeve having an opening in the side thereof,` a worm gearto encircle the support member and to act as an abutment for one end cfthe sleeve and extending partly into the opening, means for securing theworm gear to the support member, a worm in the. casing to mesh with theworm gear, a reversible motor on the sleeve for driving the worm andthereby swing the sleeve and the rocl; drill about the axis of thesupport member for moving the working implement to and fro along aworking surface, and means adjustable on the support member to serve asan abutment for the other end .of the sleeve.

GEORGE W. HULSHIZER.

